Aspire Bulk Organic Wellness Products
Natural Ingredients
Made in U.S.A.
Woman-Owned
We Deliver! Free for Golden Residents!
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Store Hours:
Tues and Wed: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Golden's ONLY Zero-Waste Bulk Store. Buy Bulk!
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Aspire conditioner is a simple conditioner for the hair, created with simple, natural organic non-ingredients. I've never been much for conditioners, since I went to short hair several years ago, but I was asked repeatedly to develop a conditioner, so I finally went for it. One reason I've avoided conditioners is that,by definition, they're an emulsion, a combition oil oil and water that must be stabilized with a surfactant, which makes for a somewhat more arduous development process compared to, say, the castille soap. I began by simply following a recipe for lotion from a book, to get a sense of it. I got a lotion that literally stood up by itself, it was soo thick, and you'd never be able to squeeze it out of a bottle, much less get it rinsed from your hair. But, it was a start. From there, I wiggled my way through about 100 iterations in a 5-month period, until I had an optimized formula. After 22 years in the oil industry, a lot of it in the lab, I actually have a lot of background with emulsions, although, in the oil industry the goal was typically to break out the emulsion, while in this case the goal was to hold it together.
The purpose of the conditioner is to lightly coat hair with oils to protect the hair from drying. Once hair emerges from the scalp as it grows, it's actually dead, with no source of nutrients or liquids to keep it oist, so conditioner can help with that. The conditioner needed to be thick enough to stay in the palm of the hand, yet thin enough to pour from a bottle. Aspire will never resort to squeeze tubes, that aren't refillable or recyclable. It must also be easy to rinse from hair, leaving just a very thin, molecular layer on hair surfaces, with no excess that could make the hair feel oily or greasy. I finally found a nice balanced formula with the exact ratios that met my initial goals for a conditioner, basically a combination of oils that are great for hair and scalp. I am now sold on conditioners, by testing out my own product! I now use it whenever I shampoo, which is two or three times a week, since I don't think excessive shampoo is good for hair. I find that the conditioner gives my thin hair some great extra body, which lasts longer compared to when I don't use conditioner. Also, I definitely don't get fly-away hair when I used the conditioner, and I love that.
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Water. Sourced from Golden, Colorado, this is the most Local and natural ingredient of all! In Golden, we have the best water, since it flows directly down Clear Creek from its source, Saint Mary’s Glacier, high in the Rocky Mountains. This is the same source of water used by the mighty Coors Brewery!
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Canola Oil. Organic, sourced from U.S.A. Natural, rendered from canola seeds.
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Potassium Hydroxide (Caustic Potash). Strong caustic, sourced from U.S.A. Natural, depending on how you view it, made by electrolysis of mined natural potassium chloride salt.
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Citric Acid. Natural, fermented from cane sugar using microbes.
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Shea Butter. Organic. From West Africa. Natural, rendered from shea nuts.
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Pine Tar. Natural, extracted from trees. From U.S.
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Witch Hazel. Witch Hazel is added as a soothing anti-inflammatory that remains on the skin after the alcohol evaporates. Currently it comes from the northeastern U.S.A. and is organic. Natural, rendered from witch hazel wood.
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Hemp Seed Oil. Organic. From Canada. Natural, rendered from hemp seeds.
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Avocado Oil. Organic. From Italy. Natural,rendered from avocados.
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Olive Oil. Organic. From Spain. Natural, rendered from olives.
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Castor Oil. Organic, sourced from India. Natural, rendered from castor beans.
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​Marula Oil. Organic, sourced from Namibia. Natural, rendered from marula nuts.
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Vitamin E Oil. Organic, sourced from USA. Made from blend of natural rendered plant oils.
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Tea Tree Oil. Organic. From China. Natural, rendered from tea tree leaves.
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Essential Oils for Scent. We use a variety of essential oils, as listed on our labels. All are organic and natural oils, that are rendered from plant parts, such as seeds, leaves, stems, roots, etc. It's difficult to find sources of essential oils that are made in the U.S.A., but we are continuing to work on that. We are making some essential oils in our Golden facility from our own organically-grown plants, but they are limited in volume and don’t make up a significant portion of the essential oils used in our products.
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Water. Most sunscreen is an emulsion of various oils and water. These emulsions are liquids, so a bottle or squeeze tube of some sort is required to contain it. Also, oil and water don’t like each other, so in order to maintain a consistent emulsion of oil and water, some sort of emulsifier is required. This naturally means more complex formulations and chemicals. Finally, when we rub sunscreen on ourselves, we usually have to rub for a while to get the water to evaporate, so we’re not left with a “wet” feeling on our skin. So, with all that, why have water in the sunscreen in the first place? Aspire sunscreen contains only the active zinc oxide and oils, blended to a solid consistency, that melts into the skin, without the water. Since Aspire sunscren is solid, a bottle is not required. You can get a naked puck, and store it in your own re-used container when you take it home. Like a bar of soap. Or get a refillable tin or compostable tube.
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Oxybenzone and Octinoxate. Oxybenzone is a petrochemical that can soak through your skin and get into your pee, breast milk and bloodstream and once there, mimic your hormones, causing scary things like menstral problems in females, and lower testosterone levels in males, as well as reduced reproductive suscess. It's even been found to damage DNA in coral larvae and cause reef bleaching. Animals exposed to oxybenzone and octinoxate, another UV absorber, were found to have lower sperm counts and higher sperm abnormalities. Hawaii banned both of these chemicals in 2019.
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Other Petrochemicals with scary genetic side-effects include Octyl mithoxycinnamate, 4-methylbenzylidene camphor and Octobrylene.
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Parabens. These have also been shown to disrupt the endocrine system, potentially increasing risk of reproductive toxicity. Oxybenzone, benzophenone-4, avobenzone, octyl methoxycinnamate, octisalate, and octocrylene have all been associated with contact allergies, and methylisothiazolinone was actually named "Allergen of the Year" by the American Contact Dermatitis Society in 2013.
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Retinyl Palmitate and related chemicals retinyl acetate, retinyl linoleate and retinol all contain vitamin A, which has been shown to increase the number of skin tumors and lesions in mice when spread on skin and exposed to sun. Vitamin A may be a necessary nutrient, but it definitely shouldn't be in sunscreen.
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Siloxanes, or Silicones, such as cyclopentasiloxane, dimethicone, or dimethiconol. These are typically used to improve the texture of formulations, helping products to glide on smoothly and evenly, as well as moisturize the skin. These are horrible for the environment, and extremely toxic to aquatic life.
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Plant-Based Emulsifiers, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, behenyl alcohol, cetyl alcohol, glyceryl stearate or stearic acid. Aspire sunscreen doesn’t need these, because the product doesn’t contain water.
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Petroleum By-Products, such as propylene glycol, mineral oil or sodium polyacrylate. They’re used as moisturizers, thickeners and for texture in products. Propylene glycol has been found to cause severe neurological symptoms and seizures. There have also been cases of nausea and vertigo. Mineral oil is composed mainly of alkanes and cycloalkanes, related to petroleum jelly.
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Propylene Carbonate. Used as a dispenser and disperser, a similar purpose as emulsifiers, which aren’t needed in Aspire Sunscreen. Made from petroleum.
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Triethanolamine. Triethanolamine is used to stabilize and increase the pH of products to improve the way they feel on the skin. Triethanolamine is a mild skin and eye irritant. It is made from ethylene oxide and ammonia, both petrochemicals. Just another unnecessary nasty chemical that Aspire will never use. Who would want this on their skin anyway?
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Synthetic Preservatives, such as quaternium-15. Quaternium-15 is an allergen, and can cause contact dermatitis in susceptible individuals. Quaternium-15 is a known human skin toxicant and allergen and possible eye irritant. It is also a formaldehyde-releasing preservative. It is made from fossil fuels. Aspire uses a mild natural preservative, tee tree oil, instead. And, in reality, lotion bars don’t really need a preservative, because with no water in the formula, it’s impossible for organisms to live there, anyway. Just keep your lotion bar reasonably clean, dry and covered, and it will be just fine.